


I Got You

by jojo_saltzman



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: 2x04 spoilers, AU, F/F, Hosie, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-11
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2021-01-27 18:23:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21396631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jojo_saltzman/pseuds/jojo_saltzman
Summary: And Hope feels mad. Mad at herself that she couldn’t help. That she couldn’t take Josie’s place to spare her of the pain that she’s now carrying in her body. Hope’s heart breaks when she thinks about how her eyes are starting to turn hollow, the carefree, loving girl long gone.orWhen Josie passes out after getting the demon out of Lizzie, Hope carries her home.
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson & Josie Saltzman, Hope Mikaelson/Josie Saltzman
Comments: 31
Kudos: 412





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> AU Hosie. Just a thought. I posted it on my Tumblr but somebody suggested that I should post it here too.

Josie’s eyelids feels heavy as she struggles to open her eyes, her chest moving up and down with shattering breaths. She feels weightless, moving above the ground while the night air is chilly. She shivers and suddenly warmth envelops her, wraps her up nice and cozy. Josie’s hands touch bare skin and tight shoulders, her senses overwhelmed with vanilla and something else that she can’t recognize.

Strong arms hold her around the back of her legs and back, her head lulled to the side and Josie rips her eyes open. The first thing she notices is sparkling blue eyes staring forward, lips set in a tight line.

“Hope?” Her voice croaks painfully and Josie longs for the special soup that Caroline used to make for them when they were sick. But her mother isn’t here. She’s thousands of miles away trying to find a way to keep her children alive.

Hope’s head looks down at her and she halts in her steps, slowing down. “Hey, it’s okay. I got you.” Her voice is soft, soothing and Josie wants to fall asleep. Her chest feels heavy and everything hurts. Her memories are foggy and she doesn’t know what happened. 

Hope adjust her hold on Josie, pulling the siphoner closer until she hears Josie let out a content sigh as she buries her face into her neck. Hope already carried Lizzie back to the school and Landon into the woods so he could resurrect without anyone watching, leaving Josie at the large oak tree, laying unconscious on the ground. 

Josie’s skin is freezing and Hope feels the dark magic cursing through her veins. The image of Josie siphoning the sword, blackness filling up every inch of her body as her eyes blackens is burned into Hope’s mind. The feeling of helplessness as she watches Lizzie beg for Josie to kill her, to kill the demon inside her and Josie’s desperate expression looking back at her, screaming ‘help’ makes Hope loose her breath. 

She, the daughter of the original hybrid, the first tribrid of the universe, Hope Mikaelson for the first time in her life didn’t know what to do. She just sat there, looking at Josie, the most important person in her life breaking down in front of her, trying to find a way around killing her only sister. 

And Hope feels mad. Mad at herself that she couldn’t help. That she couldn’t take Josie’s place to spare her of the pain that she’s now carrying in her body. Hope’s heart breaks when she thinks about how her eyes are starting to turn hollow, the carefree, loving girl long gone. 

“Dad?” Josie slips in and out of consciousness and Hope bits her lips to keep from crying.

“We’re almost there. Hold on.” She swallows the lump in her throat and leans down, placing the softest kiss against Josie’s forehead. Hope knows Josie doesn’t remember her but it doesn’t stop her heart from skipping a beat when she looks down at the brunette, so small and fragile in her arms. She wants to see her smile again even if she isn’t the one who caused it. 

Josie falls asleep by the time Hope gently places her in her bed, tucking her under the blankets. Lizzie is passed out behind her, soft mumbles telling Hope that she’s dreaming. The tribrid can’t help her eyes as they look around the familiar room, memories of silly fights and not so silly fights, confessions, laughs and tears attacks her mind. She can’t remember the last time she was in here and her hearts longs to just crawl beside Josie and fall asleep, for once not thinking about what tomorrow holds.

But she knows she can’t. Her thumb gently brushes against Josie’s cheek for the last time, the siphoner stirring slightly before settling down and Hope’s out the door, leaving her heart behind.


	2. Chapter 2

The hallway is empty, the walls lining hundreds of lockers in red and white. The Timberwolves logo painted on the titled floor as her heel thumps with each step she takes. Palms clenching the straps of her bag and Josie focuses ahead, breathing through her nose and letting it out through her mouth.

The dark magic is gone, the tightness in her chest lessened but a small fidget remains, tingling ever so often when she thinks about that night. The feeling of immense power cursing through her veins as she holds the samurai sword, her instinct screaming at her to siphon its entirety.

Her memories are vague and patchy and she’s having a hard time deciding what actually happened and what her mind made up to protect her. If the glimpses of blue eyes and hushed whispers were real.

Lizzie barely let her out of her sight since that day, standing with her arms stretched out ready to catch Josie as soon as she crumbles and she’s sure that it is only a matter of time before that happens but Josie refuses to fall victim. Isn’t Josie supposed to feel protective over her sister? After all Lizzie was the one who had a demon stuck inside her head, taking over her body completely. Nothing happened to Josie.

She slipped out of their room while Lizzie were busy running to the kitchen to bring her tea and determinedly made her way to the Mystic Falls High School for…something. She doesn’t know yet.

Rounding a corner, she sees the glass door on the right with her father’s name in bold letters and Josie breaths a little bit easier. She knocks but nobody calls out and Josie bits her lip, opening the door anyway.

His desk is empty but Josie halts her steps when her eyes fall on Hope, sitting on the sofa hunched over her legs and fingers buried deep into her hair. She doesn’t notice Josie and the siphoner contemplates leaving but a stranger feeling in her chest doesn’t let her.

So, she clears her throat quietly and watches with rapt attention as Hope’s head snaps up and her eyes falls on Josie. The siphoner’s breath gets caught in her throat at the familiarity of her stare.

“Josie.” Hope stands up quickly and fidgets with her fingers for a second, not knowing what to do with them. She takes in a deep breath and finally crosses her arms over her chest.

“Where’s my dad?” Josie doesn’t mean to sound harsh but she glances at the ground in regret when Hope’s eyes shift away from her.

“He got called somewhere. Another failed prank from the football team, I guess.” Hope murmurs and the corner of her lips turns up into a small smile but Josie doesn’t smile. Her head tilts to the side slightly and Hope bits her bottom lip in doubt.

She doesn’t know how to act, not anymore, when she’s around Josie. The younger witch’s face is blank and Hope can’t figure out what she’s thinking or what she’s feeling and the thought that Josie bottles up her emotions inside chips away at Hope’s heart. She desperately calls out for her to be let inside but Josie doesn’t know who she is. Doesn’t remember her.

“Are you okay?” The question slips out of her mouth when Josie faces the ground, her demeanor crumbling in front of Hope and the tribrid can’t act like she doesn’t care about her. She can’t shake the imagine of Josie’s hollow eyes as she falls to the ground.

Josie’s head snaps up and for a moment her eyes soften, letting Hope see how exhausted she is before she hardens her features and straightens her back to look taller.

“I’m fine.” The lie comes as easy as breathing and Josie is ready to turn on her heel and leave but Hope is suddenly there, her palm cool on Josie’s wrist. Electricity run up her arm but Josie pushes the strange feeling away and wretches her wrist out of Hope’s hold.

Hope sighs and takes a step back. “I’m sorry.” She whispers but Josie is not there anymore.


	3. Chapter 3

_“Kindred spirit in revenge.”_

_ “You poked yourself.”_

_“Josie, help me!”_

_“I started the fire.”_

_“Make quiet things heard.”_

_“I had a crush on you.”_

_“You had a crush on me?”_

_“Of course, I did. Who wouldn’t?”_

Her eyes rip open and she puts her hand on her racing heart. Her chest moves up and down rapidly and she feels restless. Throwing the covers off, she sits up and buries her head in her hands, rubbing her face roughly.

The dreams keep coming back, not letting her breath for a minute, playing a sick game that she’s not sure she can handle anymore. It dangles the happy memories, _their memories_, in front of her reminding her that Josie doesn’t look at her like that anymore. The softness is gone from her eyes that Hope is so used to, replaced by confusion and anger.

A loud clank behind the door makes her head snap up and Hope sighs, walking out to the kitchen. Alaric is there with a cast iron pan in his hands and a guilty expression on his face. The burned omelet ranks from the trashcan and Hope raises her eyebrows.

“Did I wake you?” Alaric asks as he sets the pan down on the stove and moves to the table, carrying an apple in his hand.

“It’s fine. I couldn’t sleep anyway.” Hope sits down across from him, forcing her hands into her lap and looks around. She’s been living here since he found out the truth. The apartment is small, typical bachelor pad with flashes of color that she knows is thanks to the twins. Pictures line the selves with loads of ancient books and artifacts that he can’t seem to get rid of, even after being booted off as headmaster.

“Nightmares?”

Hope’s eyes snap back to him. “You could say that.”

Alaric pauses before he chuckles. “Sorry, I’m not a very good cook.” He tosses the apple in the air before catching it. “If it wasn’t for Caroline, the girls would’ve grown up on take-out.”

Her eyes shift on the table and she’s restless. “How are they?”

Alaric takes in a deep breath that he lets out slowly. “…adjusting. Lizzie seems to be okay, Josie is – “ He shakes his head and Hope frowns in concern. “I don’t know. She insisted that she’s fine but I’m worried.”

_“I’m fine”_ Josie’s face flashes into her mind, their last conversation rings in her ears. Hope can’t count the number of times she muttered those words before, only to stop people from worrying about her. White teeth catch plump lips and Hope’s eyes falls into her lap, the words tugging on her heart.

Alaric sighs deeply. “You should really tell them.”

“I can’t.” She whispers.

“Why?”

“It’s only going to complicate things. They are dealing with enough without me.” _They are better off without me. _The words go unsaid but it sits heavily in the air, screaming inside her mind, unable to chase away.

She thought it was their only choice. _Her_ destiny that she has been created to fulfill, the only reason for her to be alive. The reason why her parents sacrificed their lives to save her, why people keep dying around her and she’s left watching them go. With every loss, something breaks that she can’t fix.

“Josie has been asking about you.”

Jaw clenches tightly and she tries to breath.

“You can’t tell her anything.”

Alaric leans forward. “Hope –“

“It’s not gonna change anything.” No matter how much she wishes that it would. No matter how much she _needs_ it to.

“She was important to you.” Hope’s head snaps upward at the confidence in his voice. Alaric smiles softly. “I may have not been around much but my daughter wears her emotions on her sleeves. And even though you are harder to read, when you were around her...” He shakes his head and lets the sentence unfinished. He doesn’t need to say it, Hope already knows. “She needs you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No Hosie interaction but this was an important scene to add.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I listened to Falling Like Stars by James Arthur when writing this so I recommend putting it on replay while reading :D it'll set the mood.

Everything is at a standstill as she looks around. She feels drained, exhausted to the point where she feels sick. The black magic from the trident keeps coursing through her veins and Clark’s brown eyes as he smirks at her replays in her mind.

She didn’t mean for that happen. She didn’t mean for any of this to happen.

She ashamed that she let herself be manipulated for so long. One nice word, a compliment and she threw every rational thought out the window, performing any spell that Headmaster Verdamus handed her. All because she felt important for once. Not second rate.

She wants to take it all back but she doesn’t know how.

“Do you want anything? Water? Another pillow?” Lizzie asks concernedly as she rushes to her side and fluffs the pillow behind her back. Josie frowns at the strange gesture, she isn’t used to be the one who is taken care of but Lizzie is relentless. She kept her promise that she made at the gym and hasn’t left Josie’s side for a moment.

Josie’s head falls forward as she thinks about the night she restored all of their memories of Hope Mikaelson. Images, conversations, soft smiles and troubled blue eyes assaulted her mind at once, making her feel crazy and sane at the same time, exhausting her to the point of passing out. A wave of emotions hit her far stronger than any spell in the world and the last thing she remembers is Hope’s eyes as they pierce into hers.

The door opens suddenly, shaking Josie from her thoughts and Hope’s there, gingerly standing on the threshold.

“Um, can I talk to Josie for a second?”

Josie’s heart speeds up, pounding in her chest like a hammer as Lizzie looks back to her for permission and Josie feels herself nod and watch as her sister leaves the room. And just like that they are alone and the air feels suffocating.

“How are you feeling?” Hope’s voice is soft and cautious, her eyes staring at Josie so intensely the siphoner has to look away.

Josie sighs. “Used.”

Josie doesn’t recognize the emotion behind Hope’s eyes as the tribrid looks away.

“But I’m glad you are okay.”

The words rush out without her realizing and its honesty surprises both of them, Hope takes in a deep breath. She’s walking until she reaches Josie’s bed and sits down in front of her and its silent. Hope suddenly doesn’t find the right words to say. She’s spent the last months trying to think about the perfect explanation, the perfect thing to say to make this all okay. Or at least one step in the right direction but as soon as Josie is close, Hope forgets everything. How to speak, how to think, how to _breathe_. 

So she talks about the school instead, how she misses being here and Josie silently watches her, not saying a word.

“I even miss Lizzie being mean to me.” They share a small smile at the memories but suddenly Hope pauses and her eyes change to something Josie has never seen before. Her breath catches in her throat as Hope’s eyes climb up on her body slowly until she’s looking into Josie’s soul, it feels like.

“I miss you.”

The world stops and it’s just them, Josie can’t see anything but Hope. The girl she has been in love since she was 14 years old, the girl who wormed her way into her heart without her knowing and settling down, unable to move.

Tentative fingers brushes against cold knuckles and Josie never felt safer when Hope looks at her and she hopes with everything in her that Hope feels the same.

“You belong here.” She whispers the words and catches the fallen tear sliding down Hope’s cheek, feeling Hope leaning into her touch. “I want you to stay.”

Josie has been dreaming about this moment for years. Thinking about how it would happen, when and where. Fantasizing about how it make her feel to feel Hope’s lips against hers. Imagining fireworks, love songs playing in the background, under the bright stars at the lake where they are freezing so they move closer to each other to keep warm and then they catch each other eyes and know they are in love. Hope would wrap an arm around her shoulder and her eyes would drop down to Josie’s lips and she would tentatively lean closer and kiss her.

Josie would dream about it all.

But when Hope breaths out a shaky breath and her eyes drop down to Josie’s lips and she leans in tentatively, Josie knows she could’ve never imagined this feeling.

She feels everything all at once as she sighs against Hope’s lips and curves a hand around her neck pulling her closer, never wanting to let go.

There’s no fireworks or music or stars.

It’s better.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took this long to finish this chapter. I hope this makes up for it 😊

She could get used to this. The feather light touches sliding down her bare arm, the tentative kisses against the back of her neck raising her from sleep, seeing Hope’s magnetic blue eyes first thing in the morning. The feeling she gets when she smiles at her and says good morning. They are warm under the covers, the world continuing on outside the door but time is standing still between these four walls. Josie never expected the way her heart would beat faster whenever the door would creak open every other night and Hope would sneak inside with an excited smile on her face. Waking up in her arms was something she didn’t know she needed until now.

The light shines through the window, illuminating the room and Josie feels like they are the only people in the world. Lizzie sneaked out early, murmuring something about yoga or else under her breath but Josie doesn’t really care. She’s willing to skip school, just stay in bed all day and waste it away.

“Hmm.” Josie hums softly as she bit her bottom lip, the feeling of Hope pressing herself against her back immediately waking up her body. A gentle kiss is placed on her bare shoulder as an arm sneaks over her waist and settles on her stomach, giving Josie chills.

“It’s nice.” Hope says quietly, careful not to break the bubble they created.

“What?” Josie smiles as her hand covers Hope’s, their fingers instantly intertwine.

“Waking up. Here.” Josie could feel her smile pressed into her shoulder as Hope nuzzles her nose into her skin. “With you. I’ve wanted this for years.”

The words get stuck in her throat because she understands. She understands perfectly because she feels the same way. Happiness, that they finally have each other but regret, that they wasted this much time. Josie turns her head to look at Hope over her shoulder, still amazed about her beauty. Hope’s eyes are soft and loving.

Josie doesn’t say anything but kisses her lips, tasting her for the nth time but it’s still feels like the first. The kiss is gentle but deep, sensual to the point where Josie feels the butterflies erupt in her stomach. Her heart beats faster and her hand tightens around Hope’s, trying to show everything she feels through her touch. Hope sighs against her lips and Josie suddenly feel too much, her heart is full and tears threaten to slide down her cheek. She pulls away from the kiss and before Hope can see her expression, she wraps her arms around her and hugs her so tight, burying her face in her neck.

“Josie…” Hope whispers in a broken tone, confused about what happened but she hugs Josie back instantly, comforting her in the best way she could.

Josie’s fingers dig into her back, clinging to the tribrid as the tears surface and she can’t do anything to stop them. She feels stupid, crying uncontrollably because she has never been so happy, never felt so _loved_ by somebody and she can’t express her feeling in any other way than through her tears. She doesn’t want Hope to worry so she lets out a watery laugh and buries herself deeper into the arms of the girl she loves.

“Josie?” Hope tries again to convey any response from her and Josie bits her lip and sniffles before pulling away but Hope doesn’t go anywhere. Worried blue eyes instantly find hers and searches for anything to indicate what’s wrong and Josie smiles, a subtle, small smile full of emotion and gratitude.

“I’m sorry.” Josie whispers and looks away but the soft touch on her cheek wiping away her tears pulls her in again. Hope’s eyes are filled with concern as she hovers over Josie, her thumb moving back and forth over her cheek to make her feel safe.

“What’s wrong?” She asks softly and Josie wants to cry again at the look in her eyes, screaming at her that Hope would do anything to make her feel better. That Josie could say the most ridiculous thing in the world and Hope wouldn’t laugh. After being hurt so many times before, Josie almost forgot what that feeling felt like. To trust somebody completely.

“Nothing.” Josie shakes her head slightly, pressing her lips together tightly and taking in a deep breath. Hope doesn’t move, patiently waiting for her to gather her thoughts. Josie pauses and looks deep into her eyes, just looking at her without saying a word for a moment. Hope meets her gaze and doesn’t look away, moving closer until their noses almost touch and the moment is intimate. The world around them quiets and they can’t see anything but each other.

“Have you ever just… felt too much?” Josie is the one who breaks the silence, her tone is just above whisper and Hope’s eyes change, a wave of sadness clouds her beautiful blue eyes and Josie frowns.

“Yeah.” Hope murmurs back and it’s Josie’s turn to cup her cheek lovingly and make her look at her. “When I got out of Malivore, I came here. It was the first place I wanted to be. You were the first person I wanted to see.”

She stopped moving, breathing altogether as Hope speaks so lowly, her face showing all the emotions that Josie is not used to seeing so openly. Hope always kept her feelings locked away, protecting herself from the inevitable heartbreak that she knew was coming sooner or later. Always waiting for the other shoe to drop. Josie has to find a way to show it to her that she’s not going anywhere. 

“You and Landon were doing movie night or something, at the old mill. I saw you.”

She thinks back on that memory that happened months ago when the name Hope Mikaelson wouldn’t mean anything to her, just a strange girl that she didn’t know meant anything to her mere weeks ago. She remembers the giant movie screen set up in the woods and Landon’s sadness when he found out Rafael didn’t want to stick around. She remembers saying maybe he went away because Landon found somebody you could make him happy.

Oh.

“Hope…”

Her heart breaks when she thinks about the way Hope must’ve felt, watching them kiss and knowing they don’t remember her.

Josie wants her to stop, to find a way she can erase that memory from her mind but Hope keeps going. “You looked so happy and I was so jealous. I wanted you to look at me the way you looked at him.”

Hope pauses and a sad smile appears on her lips. “I felt everything in that moment. Happy that I can see you after months of being stuck in literal emptiness. Angry that you were kissing him and not me. Sad that you don’t remember who I am anymore. Everything.”

The words are stuck in her throat. “I’m so so –“

“Don’t.” Her hand is on Josie’s face again as her smile turns to something else that Josie can’t describe. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Josie. You were living your life.”

“Without you.” Josie whispers sadly, her hand climbing up her arms until she reaches her neck and Hope sighs, leaning into the touch.

“I know I had to leave. I had nowhere to go but I know I couldn’t stay.” Hope says. “But somebody stopped me.”

Josie frowns slightly as Hope’s lips turn up slowly.

“It was you. I stole the prism from campus and before I knew it, you were sitting next to me on the bench. I wanted to say goodbye, even if it wasn’t the real you.”

Josie’s head tilts to the side in wonder.

“What did I say?”

Hope kisses the tip of her nose. “I don’t remember. But you wanted me to stay.”

“Of course, I did. Who wouldn’t?”

Hope’s smile softens as she quirks an eyebrow and grabs Josie by the shoulders, rolling over onto her back and bringing the siphoner with her until Josie ends up on top of her, laughing loudly. Their lips found each other again as Hope swallows her laughter and they feel lost in the best way possible. And when they got tired hours later, Josie falls asleep on Hope’s chest as the movie credit rolls on her laptop and Hope is left alone with her thoughts, feeling bad because she had lied.

Because of course, she remembers. She remembers every single word that has been said on that bench, all of it burnt into her mind. 

_“You can’t go.”_

_“I can’t stay. There is nothing left for me here.”_

“_I’m here.”_

_“You’re happy without me. Everybody’s happier without me.”_

_“That’s not true and you know it... Actually, you don’t, because this is all in your head. You convinced yourself that this is for the better, that you need to leave because that’s the best for us. Well, you’re wrong. Because I need you. I always needed you, Hope, but you never saw it because you were afraid to look. I need you now more than ever and you want to leave?” _

_“What do you want me to do?” _

_“Make me remember.”_


End file.
